Building and Breaking Walls
by The Everlasting Non Sequitur
Summary: That was all we did- after Eren's sudden disappearance (which Hange may or may not know everything about), he started building one around himself. Mikasa built up a wall to block her past out. Jean's was slowly crumbling. Armin was eroding Levi's, bit by bit. The walls Kimmy had... well, the less said, the better. Do you want to run into these walls?
1. Chapter 1

Eren felt like there was dust in his mouth.

Probably because there was.

"Mikasa?" he mumbled tentatively. "Armin? Where are you guys?" Damn them. Where were they? He was going to be shot, for god's sake! Where had they gone?

Stumbling up, he looked around, taking in his surroundings.

Where were the troops? What about the Instructor? And-

" _ARMIN!"_ he yelled, scared. _"MIKASA, WHERE ARE YOU?"_

His throat was dry and raspy, and he felt like vomiting his lungs out. Eren was in a forest, and it didn't seem like any others he had seen before. The trees were arranged weirdly, like too many had been uprooted for the others to stand it and like they were afraid to grow. The ground... it was indented in a way he had never seen before, with large uneven circles and shaky ovals all around- Eren himself was standing in one. There were odd noises coming from all around the place, but they were also strangely familiar. _Like Reiner's snoring,_ he thought randomly. There were wire-like strings on the trees, much like the strings on the 3DMs. _Like hair... why are such peculiar thoughts forming in my head right now?_

"Tch, tch, boy. I'd-a expected 'ee ter 'ave it all figgered by nay-ow."

"Who's there?" Eren yelled, turning around, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"Yer werst enemy, or maybe yer berst friend. Iddepends on 'oo ya consider me."

Suddenly, the wind seemed stronger, like it had been disturbed by a flurry of movement, and a man stood before Eren.

It was easier to describe him as a man, though really, he was better described as an animal; the way he moved, as feral, the way he talked as a cross between a series of grunts and a lazy drawl, like one who wasn't used to talking- or, indeed, moving- around humans. He had a khaki brown, sturdy set of clothing and a pair of black boots on, much like the Recon Corps uniform, and brown hair a few shades darker than Eren's. His green eyes surveyed Eren with doubt, and then, oddly, satisfaction.

Then, abruptly, he started walking in a perfectly normal and civilized manner towards Eren. _What's the deal with this guy?_ Eren thought distractedly.

"Hey." The man grinned.

"Who are you?" Eren repeated, blurting it out awkwardly.

His grin stretched even further. "Kimmy Arlert, at your service, Eren Jaeger!"

 _A-Arlert?! And how does he know my name?_

"Oh, I know more than you think, Eren. Can I call you Eren?"

"Wait. Did you read my thoughts or something?"

"Nah. It was pretty obvious what you were thinking. And yes, I'm related to that twat Armin. How's he doing, anyway? Been pissing his pants often lately, or have you and that immortal Mikasa been defending him?"

Judging from the amused look on his face, the guy was really enjoying Eren's confusion. Eren frowned.

"But you were all... _wild_ a while ago. And that accent...?"

"Oh no, that's just the façade. The real me's here for your viewing pleasure, Mr Recon Corps." He grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

 _I haven't even been here an hour, and a random stranger's flirting with me? And "Mr Recon Corps"? What else does he know?_ Eren pushed the disturbing thought away.

"And just how the hell d'you plan to explain how you know all about me, Armin and my sister?"

"Later, later. It would be _terribly_ rude not to invite you over after this uncouth intrusion into your examination of the forest, wouldn't it Mr Jaeger?" he asked, smirking.

"I wouldn't mind, to be honest..." Eren mumbled.

"I heard that, and _I_ would mind. Terribly." He retorted with a short, mocking bow.

"Stop it." Eren snapped.

"Stop it, 'Kimmy'."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now before you take me anywhere, I want a complete explanation of my position here and what actions I need to take, and also which side you're on."

"Ever the soldier, eh, Mr Jaeger?"

He started to tap his foot impatiently.

"You're here on my orders; that's all you need to know right now. And anyway, these are my grounds and _I_ give the orders here. In soldier's terms, you're under _my jurisdiction._ " He responded, authority blatant and resonating in his voice and tone.

Eren squirmed.

"Now," Kimmy said pleasantly, his smile back in place. "follow me, will you, Mr Jaeger? I apologize if I spoiled your mood."

 _My_ mood _?! So he's bossing me around in a place he apparently owns but which I know nothing about, he refuses to tell me anything about it and all he seems to be worried about is my fucking_ mood _?!_

 _Some serious shit is up right now. Some real serious shit._

* * *

Smoke. Smoke, and ashes.

A thousand miles away from Eren, Mikasa Ackerman was terrified.

She'd had pyrophobia all her life, but never quite as bad as this. Armin tried to pull her from the trance she was in, but was getting scared himself in the process as the fire inched nearer and nearer.

'ONE OF THE CANNON BALLS WENT AND FUCKING ERUPTED! GET WATER, _FAST_!'

"Mikasa..." Armin whispered, "Mikasa, look here. Mikasa. Mikasa. _Mikasa,_ come with me, please! At least speak, Mikasa!"

She just stared ahead, trembling.

Then she spoke. "Armin, leave. Run for your life. Get Eren, and save yourself."

"Mikasa, I CAN'T LEAVE! COME WITH ME, MIKASA!"

"Armin, you have to leave. Run. Run for freedom." She threw back her head and laughed manically. "Freedom! Freedom inside these walls! Freedom..." Mikasa gripped Armin's shoulder. "Freedom is not meant for humankind, Armin."

His eyes widened. "Mikasa..."

 _It's no use. She's a lost cause. Can't you see she's crazy anyway? LEAVE her._

 _I WON'T. I_ can't.

 _You can't? Of course you can. Now, GO._

 _I'm not gonna leave Mikasa to burn and THAT IS FINAL, you piece of shit._

 _Ooh, someone has a death wish. Eren isn't around to defend you this time, Armin._

 _I don't need Eren to defend me, I need to-_

"RUN, ARMIN!" Jean yelled at him. "TAKE MIKASA AND RUN FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

Lifting a limp Mikasa onto his shoulder, Armin ran.

Into a wall, that is.

"Armin, you fucking fool, _that_ way!" someone was yelling. Armin followed the other running soldiers away from the smoke and ran towards the medics, fast, collapsing a foot away from them with Mikasa still on his shoulder.

"Two cadets at 3'o clock, immediate medical attention!" a medic ordered. That was all Armin heard before going unconscious.

And that is how Armin Arlert saved Mikasa Ackerman's life.

* * *

A/N: Bang, snap and burn.

How was this pilot chapter? More to come as soon as I can.

Might be delayed 'cause I've got to catch a train tomorrow, but most probably up by the... let's be safe and say 18th.

Warning- there will be swearing, violence and _maybe_ kissing (if I get the pairings straight) in this fic. If you are anti-any of these things, don't read it.

I've prepared a pretty good fic plan/sketch, so lemme tell you in advance that Kimmy's gay. If you're a homophobe, or uncomfortable with such stuff, don't read those bits. There will _possibly_ be yaoi and straight romance in this fic, and a few OCs (apart from Kimmy, that is) here and there to propel the plot (or even just because I can). Can't tell you much more or I'll spoil it all for you. If this gets any views at all, that is. If it does, review, it's what hungry young authors live on! :-)

Lots of love and and snuggles and tackle-hugs and hug-attacks and just hugs in general,

The Everlasting Non Sequitur.


	2. Chapter 2

So I'm BACK! And this chapter's from Armin's POV, written in second person because I find the style interesting and I'm experimenting with it. That's not to say you should expect tons of second person chapters from now on, just so's you know.

* * *

"Mikasa!" You gasped. Your throat was dry, your eyes were burning and you felt exhausted, even though you had just woken up. "She's not here." A deep, manly voice replied, and a black-haired man stepped out of the shadows.

"So you finally decided to wake up, mm? Good thing, too; I was getting seriously pissed off by this filthy dungeon."

Dungeon? What the-

Dungeon, indeed.

You were chained to a bed, the chains' increasing reality creeping into your psyche, messing with you. This kind of thing had never happened to you before. Your parents had never even grounded you, and your grandfather had never needed to.  
You felt entirely alien here; this place was unnatural... it was too hot- too _closed,_ too horrid. The man cleared his throat. "Look at me when I speak to you, shithead." But you were too busy looking around you to notice. Your forehead was drenched with sweat, and-

"Why're your ears _red?_ Is something the matter, shithead?"

You could swear you heard a hint of concern in his voice: or you would have, were you listening.

You collapse on your bed, shaking and sweating even more profusely-

Alarm and hesitance show clearly in the face of the woman looming over you.

You're not in that dungeon anymore, but in a white room, mostly empty except for the woman who is now sitting beside you and the man from the dungeon, asleep on a sofa in the corner of the room nearest to you. Feeling something wet on your forehead, you turn slightly. The woman- you decide that she is your nurse- is dabbing you with a wet cloth, slowly, gently. She notices you looking at her and the ghost of a smile flickers over her lips. "You've been unconscious for hours; it's a wonder you could find it in you to be so lazy after sleeping that long in the dungeons."

"What's happened to me? Who is that man? What's he doing here? W-" something suddenly dawns over you. "Where's Mikasa?"

She drains the cloth in a small basin. "You ask way too many questions, kid. I'll answer two, since I have no clue about the others. We- the Captain and I, that is- believe you have a phobia of dungeons. You woke up there and fainted almost at once. 'That man' is Captain Levi Ackerman of the Survey Corps. I have no doubt you've heard of him. He dropped you over about four hours ago,- I heard he'd been on a mission before- and told me the whole story, before collapsing onto that sofa."

 _Strange. Why would Captain Levi be here? Am I that special- special enough for such attention from the Captain himself?_

"Feeling okay now?" You nod, running a hand through your hair. "Great. Let's wake the Captain up."

He stumbles out of the sofa upon being nudged awake by the nurse. You can't help but notice the vulnerability in his eyes when he falls, and hold out a hand to help him up.  
You regret the decision almost immediately as he slaps it away, getting up on his own. That usual, cold, arrogant look is back as he stares you down. You feel self-conscious, but then remember the question you meant to ask him.

"Why're you here for me, Commander?"

"That's what I've been wondering all day too, shithead. Apparently, you're on trial for 'aiding and abetting a cadet accused of high treason in his escape'. Mikasa Ackerman will be tried alongside, if they can find her in time. If not, she'll be considered legally dead. If she knows what's best for her, she won't come back. I'm going to be your lawyer, and you'll stay at my house for the time leading up to your trial."

"Why you?"

"Dot Pixis asked me to, and I have enough influence and a right to be your lawyer, seeing as I was also a witness, and have had a bearing in matters of court before."

Nodding slowly, you gulp as you take all of this in.

' _Escape'? 'If they can find her'?_

This obviously meant that Eren and Mikasa were missing. Your two best friends, out there somewhere...

You just hoped they were alive.

Meanwhile, you did not notice the mingled doubt and grudging acceptance the Captain is looking at you with. You did not know it, but you might find an ally in him yet.

* * *

A/N- Was it obvious how much I ship them~? Anyway, I do. Deal with it.

Since I have the next chapter written already, it'll be up soon. AS WELL AS THE NEXT.

Sorry for the delay, guys. Not that this has been getting too many views or whatever, but I like pretending I actually have readers.

I have doubts about the degree of Levi's OOCness, but this is how I'm writing him. I _think_ I'm going pretty good with the whole 'abusive, hot, tsundere captain' thing. At least, _I've_ made him tsundere. I really have no idea, y'know, I'm only on ep 13 yet because I'm such a shameless procrastinator. *pretends to ignore accusatory glares from non-existent readers*

Lots of love and hugs and chocolate and apples (because Ryuk),

The Everlasting Non Sequitur.

PS- Has my writing style changed much? I have no idea because it all seems the same to _me,_ but if anyone's out there reading this, can you compare the first and second chapter and tell me?


	3. Chapter 3

Kimmy sighed, sinking into the water and remerging in a flurry of bubbles and wet hair. Eren was slowly turning redder and redder.

He and Kimmy were in a bath.

It was all wood and steam and smiles (from Kimmy, obviously) and little splashes of water that got in Eren's ears. And he minded. He minded all of it.

He was in a _bath._ A _steamy_ bath. With a _stranger._

 _A hot guy,_ a voice in his head stated.

 _Shut up. Still a stranger._

He cleared his throat. "So, Kimmy."

Kimmy grinned, scooting closer. "Yes~, Eren?"

Eren blushed even further.

Kimmy inhaled softly, slowly. "Mm, Eren?"

"You told me earlier that we're outside the walls-"

"Ah, yes, while you were taking your pants off, as I recall."

"You didn't _see_ anything, did you?" Eren blurted, panicking.

Kimmy smiled slowly. "No, Eren, I'm saving that for later~..."

His neck kept getting hotter and hotter.

"Anyway, if we _are,_ how come there aren't any Titans?"

"Were you hoping for some? I'm afraid you're at least 25000 miles in the wrong direction."

"You seemed like you were expecting me."

"Because I was." He smiled mysteriously.

"Er...how?"

"D'you know Hange Zoe?"

"N-no..."

"She's an inventor. A part of the Recon Corps. She happened to hear your story and told me that this was the perfect chance. Now, she has this teleporter, apparently. A prototype. It uses the same basic principle as Titan regeneration- the ground cuts up on its own and bam, you're inside it. A while later, it 'regenerates' in a place of your choosing, with you inside. It also helped, obviously, that your human form was weak as of then. Genius, that girl."

"'The perfect chance'?"

"Yeah. I'd better tell you, then. You're gonna stay here from now on. I've been fighting Titans since I could walk, not to brag or anything."

"So?"

"So..." he breathed, leaning closer, holding Eren's chin with two fingers and gently caressing his bottom lip, "I'll train you. Doesn't that sound like fun, Eren?" he added huskily.

 _Definitely a hot guy._

Eren gulped, then found himself nodding involuntarily.

* * *

A/N- So we have (apparent) shotacon! Or y'know what, this made me think. How old IS Kimmy? This could be quite a Chekhov's Gun, this last statement, if the answer ever comes up.

Which reminds me, there's an AWESOME Death Note fanfic called... you guessed it right. Chekhov's Gun. I'm gonna put a URL here so you can fully experience its epicness.

s/10522614/1/Chekov-s-Gun

Anyway, see you next chapter!

Lots of Titan-sized hugs, philosophical ramblings, bishies, yaoi and jrock,

The Everlasting Non Sequitur.


	4. Chapter 4

Mikasa was at Jean's house. How they ever decided he could get one, no one would ever know. Rumor was, he was picking fights- but everyone knew he had issues...  
Mikasa, though, was past caring. She had appeared there, panting and sweating, escaped from the field hospital. She herself had no clue about 'why _here'_ , but Jean was ever the gracious host. He'd given up his bed for her, cooked for her, nursed the cut on her arm (from when she fell, when Armin rescued her).

He had tried to ask her, but she wouldn't speak. It was enough that she was opening her mouth to eat. They ate; she bathed; he bathed; he cleaned and bandaged the cut; she slept; he sat awake, thinking.

They carried on like this for three days, until-  
"Eren." Jean whispered. _That's why she's been like this.  
_ "Huh?"  
"It's Eren, isn't it?"  
"He's not here."  
"He's alive, though."  
"How do you know?"  
"They're still looking, and he's trying not to be found. If he were dead, they'd have found his body."  
"Well, how do you know they're looking?"  
"Connie's cousin's in a special batch of the MP. They're the ones looking, so Connie drops a note to update me every day. He's probably outside the walls. That's what he wanted."  
"Oh."  
"Just 'oh'? Isn't Jaeger the reason you live?"  
"But I'm useless now. Rotting here, inside the walls. He doesn't need me anymore."  
There was a pause.  
"No one needs me anymore."  
"H-huh?"  
"I have no reason to live anymore. The last time I thought that, I was wrong, but this time..."  
"Mikasa, just what the fuck d'you mean? The Corps need you, you're the best! Armin, me, Sasha... what about us? Jaeger _never_ needed you that much. You're just way too obsessive over him. And he obviously doesn't give a shit about you, or he'd be back here, wouldn't he?" he sneered.  
"Jean, I-" she trailed off, staring into nothing.  
"Mikasa, WAKE UP! You're not going to do this to yourself for some dickhead who didn't care enough to stay. He might have saved you once, but you've more than repaid him. Goddamn, I-" he ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I'm speaking in clichés now."

Mikasa's lip was trembling, but Jean didn't care for once. He was frustrated, furious and felt used. How come Eren was the one she followed around, and he was the one she sought out -if that- only because she had no other choice?

She was crying by now, her face in her hands. Jean was ranting.

He felt guilty; how could he make her cry like that? Had he no empathy- oh, geez. Save the moral dilemma for later, Jean.  
Finally, the stream of words he had let flow until now ran out.

He broke off mid-sentence. Paused, breathed. Got his mind together, and felt only shame. He only got through an 'I'm-' before he found himself on the roof- he had no words left. Staring out at the changing sky, he stayed there for hours. When it finally started raining, he didn't- couldn't- care enough to get up and leave.  
That was when he felt her hand on his shoulder.  
"Jean. Come down, it's okay."  
None of them was articulate or eloquent enough to say more. Or maybe they were just too tired. Whatever. They both understood.

* * *

(A/N) Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, back again~! I know I've been off FanFiction for a while BUT I'll try my best to write more now to make up to my beloved non-existent readers.

Meh.

Mm, so one thing I'm a little skeptical about is, is Jean OOC? Because I've never written him before, so I really have no idea how to write him. He's gonna be a major character, though, so I guess I'll eventually learn.  
This is pretty light on the shipping, hinted at best because I don't really ship Mikasa and Jean that much.

Anyway~, though it says on Jean's wiki that he had a 'relatively normal childhood under the loving care of his mother', I'm gonna _not_ follow canon and make his past totally AU. Absolutely, totally. You'll find out more in the next few chapters I guess, I don't have anything planned.

But I can promise you I'm not gonna neglect this fic anymore.

Lots of pizza and hugs-hugs-hugs and kawaii anime supporting characters (I don't like Fairy Tail, but who doesn't like Happy?) and HUUUUUUGS (never too much of those) and cuddles and popcorn,

The Everlasting Non Sequitur


	5. Chapter 5

Stars are strange things. I could never get them; which constellation is which, where they are, how they look- it's all the same to me.  
I end up staring at them each night, though, at the Captain's house. The dark circles under my eyes are turning into bags, but I'm past caring. I've been here for two weeks now, but I've only seen the Captain twice. Once in the evening of my first day here, in his study, and then at breakfast a few days ago. He didn't talk much either time- asked me about myself, mainly, but I felt his eyes rake up and down my body. I think they (or at least he) think the Titan thing is contagious. Why else would he stare so piercingly, so _intensely,_ at _me?_

There is no news of either Mikasa or Eren. I hope they haven't given up hope yet. I hear they'll search the houses next. I sigh. It's all pointless. They'll be found if they want to be.

"It's pointless." I repeat aloud, for emphasis.

"What's pointless, shithead?" the Captain's voice comes from behind and he steps out of the shadows of my empty bedroom to the balcony.

"Nothing, sir. Er, Captain Ackerman." I say, blushing.

"Hmm?" It's clear he doesn't believe me, but he decides to leave it alone.

"The Titan thing's not contagious, Captain." I blurt as he sits down beside me on the floor. Shit, what? No~...

"Huh?" he's amused now.

"You stare at me when you see me, Captain, as if such intense staring might turn me into a Titan too."  
He laughs. It's a nice laugh- deep, ironic, not long enough to be creepy. Not what you'd expect from him, which is nothing. Have I ever seen him laugh before?

"Hope not. Did you think I was that stupid, Ar- shithead? And anyway, _that_ staring's different." He mutters darkly. There's a pause.

"D'you know you look like a panda now?"

"How much can you really see in the dark?"

"You'd be surprised."

How does he even know what pandas are? Even I've only seen them in books about the outside world.

"We have a library here."

Why is he so chatty all of a sudden?

"You do?"

"Yeah. I don't _only_ kill Titans, y'know."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure. I've got to be there, though. Technically, you're still a criminal on trial."

"I don't mind-"

"In fact, I've got a book here right now."

I can feel my face lighting up. Maybe that's why he hands it to me right away. "Read it tomorrow."

I could hug him right now, if I didn't know he'd have me shot. I decide to give it a try anyway.

"Captain Levi?"

"Yeah."

"Can I hug you?"

There's a long, painful pause.

"Okay."  
So I gently place his arms away from his lap and wrap mine around him, slowly melting into him. His chest is firm, muscled, but I fit into it perfectly. I settle slowly onto his lap, and he doesn't push me away. I nuzzle into his chest. Still nothing.  
But then he wraps his arms around me, and I'm lost. My last thought before falling asleep is that maybe he's lost too.

#

From that night on, we spend every night like that. He doesn't hug me again; most of the time, we talk. I put my head on his lap, or just doze off, leaning against the wall. Invariably, though, I find myself on my bed the next morning. He points out the constellations to me, when he's not too tired. He almost always does. I now know Orion, the Pole Star, Ursa Major and Sirius. There's also this other constellation, Shithead, which I know he made up. By the fifth time he points it out, I know it spells 'Armin'.

Maybe I do like stars after all.

* * *

A/N: This, in my opinion, is the best chapter I've written so far on FanFiction. I mean, I wrote this fic for Tokyo Ghoul earlier which had a kiss scene in it that I didn't even _want_ to write, so I've evolved, right? I mean, Dewott from Oshawott, at least.

WHAT? Don't look at me like that, my readers would've sniped me if I hadn't written it, and all the tension I'd built up would've gone to waste.

Anyway, I've got the next chapter-and-a-half done, so it'll be up by tomorrow. I really need to stop writing stuff on paper or I'll kill myself trying to type it all up.

See you next chapter,

Lots of cakes and RivaArmin and Nutella and rainbow socks and chibi Undertakers (OF COURSE I mean Black Butler),

The Everlasting Non Sequitur.


	6. Chapter 6

Eren was sweating hard. And swearing hard. And running hard. And nothing was working.  
Kimmy was making him run after him in the woods. On 3DM in the boiling heat at two in the afternoon.

And this guy was fast. Lazy, sure (he made Eren get up to fetch water each time he was thirsty at night), but pretty fast. His movements were a brown blur dancing through the trees, way, way ahead of Eren. It didn't exactly help that Eren knew failing would mean looking for firewood at five in the morning.  
He was on the verge of giving up when he caught a brown flash out of the corner of his eye and his 3DM's string...

Disappeared.

He was hanging on to one of those hairs; those weird strings, at leastfifty or sixty meters above the ground. His grip was getting looser and looser. His hands were slipping. He knew what Kimmy wanted him to do now.

Biting into his shoulder with a violent twist of his neck, he transformed.


End file.
